Featuring Sarah — A Blogger’s Quilt Festival Quilter!

Hi friends – I’m so glad it’s Friday! Today’s featured quilter is Sarah, Sarah blogs at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and was nominated in the Favorite Group or Bee Quilt. I hope you enjoy getting to know Sarah better, she has a huge heart, and shares her love of quilting whenever she can.

1. When did you begin quilting?

My grandmother taught me to sew when I was eight, but she didn’t quilt at all, so I never really did any quilting until about two and a half years ago. That’s when a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer, and a group of us got together to make her a quilt. None of us were quilters, so it’s amazing that the quilt worked out at all, but it did! Our church’s quilt ministry was born with that quilt, although we didn’t realize it at the time. I started quilting (and blogging) then and I’ve never looked back!

2. Why do you quilt?

You might as well ask why do I breathe! I love quilting – it just feels like what I’m supposed to do! It satisfies my longing to be creative, and useful, and it gives me a good excuse to avoid housework!! I’m so fortunate to get to stay at home and take care of my granddaughters, so quilting is basically my full time job. Since that first quilt, I’ve had my hand on probably 2/3 of the 250+ quilts our quilt ministry has given away – either in the piecing, quilting or binding! Creating quilty hugs for people in need is a great feeling – and it allows you to make so many quilts!!

3. What is your favorite quilting tip?

Relax! Quilting should be fun – don’t make it into work! When I’m teaching ladies in our group how to machine quilt, I remind them to breathe… Oh, and press your seams! It makes all the difference between “homemade” and “hand-crafted”!

Our quilt ministry got a request for a quilt for 15-year old girl in our community who was diagnosed with breast cancer and was going to have a bilateral mastectomy. I wanted to make something bright and cheerful for her, and found the rainbow colored blocks that had been donated to us by Terri. After assembling those into a top, I started looking for a back to work with the front. Working with donated fabrics, we have a tendency to have smaller pieces, so finding a single fabric for a back is hard sometimes, but I was looking for one so I could get the quilt to her before her surgery. Piecing backs is fun, but it takes a while! Then I came across a piece of fabric I picked up at IKEA the last time I went to Atlanta, and something told me to use it for the back. I love the splash of huge flowers across this fabric! As it turned out, the recipient loves the back of the quilt more than the front – in her own words, the flowers were “perfect”! And that’s why we make quilts to donate!!

5. Do you sew other things?

Not as much as I used to, but I do love making clothes for my granddaughters Lilli and Emma!! It’s so much fun dressing up little girls – and Lilli is old enough to give her own input on what she likes – which makes for interesting dresses!

6. Anything else you would like us to know about you?

I am so blessed to have discovered the quilt blogging community – they are wonderful, generous people that I am proud to call friends! Our quilt ministry has thrived because of their willingness to help! We are thrilled to receive donations from quilt bloggers, so if you have UFO guilt or want to make room for newer fabric, feel free to contact me through my blog, Confessions Of A Fabric Addict! I post a ministry update on Wednesdays, so you might see your fabrics or quilt top show up there.

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Thanks for sharing Sarah! I love that your ministry was founded with inexperienced quilters; that speaks to the nature of a quilt “full of love”.

Hi I'm Amy! Here's what you need to know about me - I love to sew! I learned to sew garments as a girl, then taught myself to quilt as a young mom. I've been writing books and patterns for the last five years, and hope to inspire you in your own quilting journey!